Signs Of Hope
by Sorna
Summary: Takes place the evening after the invasion. Wanna know more? Read and find out. Final Ch.Up!! I also edited some of the previous chapters. :)
1. I'll be right back!

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the movie _Signs. I don't own the characters Merrill, Graham, Morgan, Bo, or Randa McKinning (since they mention her in the film.) (She shows up in the next chapter) This is merely a fan story my first one, in fact. It's just been sitting on my computer since August. Anyway, enjoy! _

                Chapter one: "I'll be right back!"

It was the evening after the events that the Hess family would never forget. Everything seemed perfect. The sun was setting. Morgan and Bo were playing in the yard, dancing to the music on the radio while Graham watched them from the porch. But, Merrill Hess stood alone, gazing uneasily out into the cornfield. He couldn't help but wonder if any of '_them' were still out there. Because neither he nor Graham had been into field since the attack, no one knew for sure. Merrill was about to turn and walk away when he heard something off in the distance, a faint yet audible clicking noise._

              "Did you guys hear that?"

                                 "Hear what?" Morgan asked as he turned off the radio. There was a long pause.

          "You two should go inside" Graham told his children. "It's getting late."  

                   Morgan and Bo shrugged, grabbed the radio, and went inside. Graham turned to Merrill.

                           "You don't think…" he started, but Merrill interrupted.

                                      "Shh!"

          The noise was back, a little louder this time, but still a good way off into the distance. Merrill ran inside the house and reemerged seconds later with a bottle of water. 

    "Stay here with the kids" he said. "I'm going to see what that is."

                           "Wait a minute!" Graham protested. But, Merrill cut him off again.

        "Don't worry, I won't go very far. I'll be careful. Trust me"

                   "Oh, alright", Graham said reluctantly, realizing that there was no way of talking his brother out of this. "Just hurry up, ok? It's starting to get dark."

         "Ok, I'll be right back!" Merrill replied, and set off into the cornfield.         

(A.N. So what'd ya think? Good? Bad?  Please review but, leave constructive criticism only!  As I mentioned, this is my first fic. Thanks! )


	2. Whispers

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _Signs. All of that belongs to M. Night Shyamalan. _

I also don't own the songs "Pictures" (I don't know who wrote it) or "Goodbye to you", which belongs to Michelle Branch. That being said, on with the story! 

Chapter Two: Whispers

     _"I found your picture today. I swear I'll change my ways. I just called to say I want you to come back home…"_

_"…And I Said, Goodbye to you. Goodbye to everything I thought I knew. You were the one I loved, the one thing that I tried to hold on to." _

Randa McKinning sighed and switched off the radio. Usually these were two of her favorite songs but, she was in no mood to hear them right now. 

"Is it just me, or are depressing love songs the only thing they play on the radio these days? It's as if someone or something is _trying_ to make me feel guilty."

She leaned back in her chair and smirked at the ridiculous idea.

"I don't feel guilty." She reassured herself "I mean, breaking up with Merrill was the right thing to do. We just weren't getting along." It was true. They had been friends since they were kids and they were always bickering about something, but most of the time it was just playful banter. Although she spoke with Graham that afternoon, she hadn't seen her ex boyfriend since about a month ago at a party at Joe Gills' house where she had almost thrown up on him 

"That's the _last_ time I try one of Lionel Prichard's homemade cocktails!" She mused. 

Both of them had had one sip too many, got into an argument about something (she didn't remember what it was about), and she just threw up her hands and said "It's over!"

"It was the right thing to do." She repeated. But some nagging little voice in her brain was constantly telling her otherwise.

Suddenly, a burst of cold water in the face made Randa snap from her reverie. 

"Josh!" she shouted as she saw her little brother run off carrying a large squirt gun. She got up off the porch and grabbed the other Super Soaker that was lying in the yard. 

"I am _so_ gonna get you for that one!" She ran across the yard trying to catch her little brother, but when she stopped running and looked around, she didn't see him anywhere. She looked towards the house, then at the Hess cornfield (the edge of which bordered the Hess's property and the McKinning's) and noticed some of the stalks moving. 

"Great, just great!" she muttered as she started into the field. "It's gonna take forever to find him in here!" 

Awhile later, the sun was down, the sky had gotten cloudy, and Randa still hadn't found Josh. As she crept along, she could have sworn she heard noises. She heard footsteps other than her own and whispers and occasionally a strange series of clicks.

"Come on, Josh!" she called out. "This isn't funny!" 

Just then, a tall, dark figure darted across the path up ahead. She gasped and almost dropped the water gun.

"That's it!" she thought. "I'm getting the hell outta here! Josh is smart enough to not wander around after dark. He's probably at home and if he's not, I'll call the police."

Randa took off in the direction she came in from or at least the direction she _thought she came from. It was dark and all the paths and the corn looked the same. _

Much to her dismay, when she stopped running she only found herself at a dead end. 

(A.N. Please review. Remember, constructive criticism! P.S. If you're still wondering who Randa McKinning is, Merrill mentions her "I was at a party with Randa McKinning……I could have been kissing her as she was throwing up!" that part.)


	3. Close Encounter

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _Signs_. Yadda yadda yadda…….. 

Chapter Three: Close Encounter 

Merrill made his way to the large crop circle in the center of the field. "It's probably where they landed", he thought. But once he got there he saw no one.

"Wish I'd brought a flashlight ", he muttered. It was a lot darker than usual, considering there was no moon or stars out because of the clouds, and it was hard to 

see anything. _Crunch, crunch,_ footsteps sounded nearby. Merrill whipped around in the direction of the noise. He waited but nothing happened. He started to walk back towards the path when something from behind knocked him to the ground. He rolled over just in time to see the alien pounce on him. The water bottle tumbled out of his hands, spilling the contents all over the ground. The creature hissed evilly and glared at Merrill. He tried to break free from it's grasp but it was useless. The alien put it's wrist under Merrill's nose. On it's wrist was the small rod the first alien had used to emit poison gas when it tried to kill Morgan. 

"Oh shit!" Merrill thought. "How the hell am I gonna get outta this one?!" But suddenly, the alien let go and let out an ear-piercing shriek! When it turned around, he could see that it's back was melted. The shrieking died down and the alien fell to the ground, dead. Merrill sat up and saw Randa McKinning standing there, clutching a Super Soaker.

"Randa!" he gasped. "What are you doing here?!" 

"What am I _doing_ here?!" she asked in disbelief. "Unbelievable! I just saved your ass and all I get is a '_what am I doing here'?!" _

Merrill wasn't surprised by her reaction. Just recently, before they had broken up, she _had been complaining about how he took her for granted._

"Thanks" he said. "I really appreciate the rescue but, let's just get outta here now." 

Randa followed Merrill out of the circle and down the path. Awhile later, the two found themselves still wandering around in the field.

"We're lost, aren't we?" Randa asked, somewhat irritably.

"No were not." Merrill replied. "I know my way around my _own cornfield."_

"Oh no, Randa, we're not _lost_" she mimicked. "Where have I heard _that_ before?"

"If you're referring to that road trip we took last year…" he began, but Randa cut in.

"The one we took to San Diego", she retorted "The one where _you_ refused to ask for directions because you didn't wanna admit you were lost, so we ended up at the Mexican border!" 

"Shhh!!" Merrill said suddenly. He stopped dead in his tracks.

"What?" Randa asked, stopping behind him.

Then she heard it. The sound of footsteps, and it was heading in their direction.

"Run!" Merrill whispered urgently and grabbed her hand. The two of them took off down the path as fast as they could. After a few seconds, Merrill skidded to a halt. There was an alien right in front of them. They turned around to go back in the opposite direction, but another alien was standing there. They turned to their right, but _another_ alien stepped out of the corn. They turned to their left, but yet _another alien stood there._

"Oh, God!" Randa whispered, her voice full of panic. They were surrounded! 

(A.N. To be continued… probably next weekend. Please review! Constructive criticism only! No flames! Thanks! Oh and by the way, the next few chapters _may be a little longer. Maybe.) _


	4. Fear and Faith

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to _Signs _or it's characters (Merrill, Randa, Graham, Morgan, Bo) so don't sue! Err… you won't get much; maybe come beat up looking pencils, some newspaper clippings…… 

      (A.N. Sorry this took so long. My computer crashed and I had to retype this.)  : (             

                                                                                                Chapter Four: Fear and Faith

        Randa tried desperately to pump up the gun, but only a few drops came out. It was out of water. Merrill looked at her hopelessly. She shrugged, out of ideas. One of the aliens 

         snatched the water gun from Randa's shaking hands, tossed it out of sight, and hissed at them in a language neither could understand. The creature beckoned them to follow. A malicious glare 

             in it's eyes warned the two hostages not to try anything stupid.

                           A few minutes later, the group arrived at one of the smaller crop circles. In the center was a scarecrow mounted on a tall pole. The alien produced two ropes, looped them around the pole, and then proceeded to tie the wrists and ankles of the two captives to it. 

                                                                         Merrill and Randa sat in silence for a while as the creatures patrolled the circle. 

                  "Ok, so maybe coming out here alone, after dark _wasn't_ such a good idea." Merrill thought "I could just kick myself! It's like the guy in every horror movie who goes back into the house to see if the killer's still there!" He began to tug at the scarecrow, but his efforts were only rewarded by a sharp hiss from one of the aliens who was watching. He glanced over at his companion, who was also deep in thought.

    Randa watched as the creatures gathered in a huddle and began whispering to one another. "What are they saying?" she wondered. "Their probably getting ready to ship us off to God-knows-where."  She bit her lip, determined not to cry in front of her ex, and drew in a sharp breath. 

          "You ok?" Merrill asked.

                                "Well, aside from the fact that we're stuck in the middle of a field, late at night and being watched by 'The Creatures from the Black Lagoon', yeah, I'm fine." 

                                             "That's good." 

                                  "I'm sorry, it's just so…ironic.", she admitted, her voice quavering a little. "I mean, we both _just_ managed to survive last night and yet, here we are….What do you think their   gonna do with us?" 

                   "I don't know. If they were gonna kill us, they would've done it already. But then again, I could be wrong." 

    Randa winced and deliberately turned away. 

                      "Hey." Merrill said softly, putting his free hand on her shoulder. "At least these aren't the guys from _South__Park. You know, the ones that made Cartman start farting fire?" _

    Randa let out a nervous smile. "Always the eternal optimist.", she thought. "He can always crack a joke no matter where we are. In fact, I was beginning to miss that about h-Hey wait! What am I thinking?"

        "Besides," Merrill continued, gesturing at the bickering aliens. "Now that they're not watching, we could probably make a run for it." He began to tug at the scarecrow again. "Give me a hand with this." The two pulled until the scarecrow came out and fell to the ground with a soft thud. Fortunately, none of the creatures seemed to notice. They stud up as quietly as they could. Merrill held up his fingers and mouthed the words. "One, two, three" 

           Meanwhile, back at the house, Graham stood in the living room, gazing out the window and wondering where his younger brother was. "Merrill should've been back a long time ago." He thought. "What could've happened?" Many answers to that question raced across Graham's mind. All of which made his stomach turn flip flops. "It's all my fault. I never should have let him go out there alone."  A sudden movement upstairs caught Graham's attention. As he climbed the steps, he heard a soft cry form Bo's room. He opened the door to find Bo sitting on her bed, crying and Morgan trying to console her.

        "What's wrong?" Graham asked.

                      "Bo had a nightmare." Morgan replied. "Dad, where's Uncle Merrill?"

         "He just went to go check on something."

                        "Dad, that was two hours ago."    

                                       "You don't think something bad happened, do you?" Bo asked worriedly. Graham sat down on the bed next to his children

 "Remember what you learned in Sunday school, about having faith even though you're scared?"              

                        "Since when do you believe in God?" Morgan muttered.    

  "Since today, when you asked me if someone saved you. Someone did. Remember that story I told you about Noah and the ark? Noah and his family were probably pretty sacred after being trapped on the ark all through the flood. But they weathered the storm and God eventually made the waters dry up and put a rainbow in the sky, just to show that everything was gonna be alright."  

 After putting the kids to bed, Graham went back downstairs. He looked out the window but still saw no sign of his brother. He sighed, looked toward the ceiling, and after a few minutes, he decided to do something he hadn't done for quite a while. "I never ask you for much. I know you helped us out today.  I thank you for that. But please, look out for my brother. After all you've taken from me…. I just don't think I could stand to lose anymore….."   

 Graham sat down on the couch and fell asleep, hoping someone had heard him.

         (A.N.   Whew! A very talkie chapter, I know. But I wanted to be concurrent with the theme of the movie. More coming soon, I promise. R and R!  Flames will be put out with a glass of water.)  :  ) 

                           
   


	5. More Than coincidence

Disclaimer: I don't own _Signs or any characters mentioned in this fic. I'm merely "Borrowing" them…. For a while…._

  A.N.  Read and review! : ) 

                               Chapter Five: More than coincidence?

 Merrill and Randa dashed though the field, going up and down the paths, taking shortcuts through the corn stalks, trying to confuse the creatures. And it was working.  

   Seeing the lights of the Hess farmhouse just up ahead and having not seen the aliens for a good while, they slowed to a walk. 

           "You think we lost 'em?" Randa asked, panting. 

                  "I 'm not sure" Merrill answered. "It seems too easy, but who knows. They might be still hissing at each other."

             "Yeah, those guys are even worse than _we_ are!" 

 Merrill chuckled and looked over at her. But the smile suddenly dropped from his face when he noticed two gleaming pairs of eyes peering out from the stalks, right behind her.

               Before he could say anything, something grabbed him by the shoulders. 

     "Merrill!" Randa cried out as two aliens grabbed her and started pulling her into the stalks on the opposite side of the path. Struggling against the creature, Merrill reached out and grabbed her hand.

                      "Hang on!" he shouted. But it was useless. His hand was slipping as they were both being dragged away from each other. 

                        "Is this _it?" Merrill thought angrily. "After we were all we went through?! We were so close!" It was then he felt something small, cool, and wet fall on his forehead. He heard a rumble of thunder. Raindrops started falling harder and harder. The storm clouds that had gathered earlier in the evening had finally broken. _

 The creatures shrieked in anguish as Merrill and Randa bolted down the path.

          Back at the farmhouse, a loud clap of thunder woke Graham. He glanced out the window. He saw his brother and Randa dart through the rain toward the guest house. Graham let out a sigh of relief, looked up to the ceiling, and whispered "Thank you"

Merrill and Randa burst in the door of the guest house and into the small living room, astonished at their sudden good fortune.

      "Can you believe it?!" Randa exclaimed.

            "I know" Merrill replied. "What are the odds?!"  There had been quite a few coincidences that night. "Or _was_ it coincidence?" he thought.

      "Was that all four of them? I thought I only saw three." Randa asked. 

             "Maybe you didn't notice the fourth one" Merrill suggested. "It was pretty dark out." 

 He took two towels from the laundry basket, tossed one to his companion, and started to dry off.  Randa studied the items on the bookshelves and the mantel. There were many dusty knickknacks, some Hess family photos, and even a few snapshots of Merrill and herself. On trinket in particular caught her eye. She picked it up.

        "The Chinese finger trap!" Randa said with surprise. "I didn't know you still had this!"

              "Yeah" Merrill said with a grin. "You remember where that's from?"

        "Oh how could I forget! We were in third grade. I had just moved here. You came over and wanted me to help you try out your new finger trap."

                 "And you were _so pissed at me when we couldn't get it off!" _

        "We must've run around all day with our fingers stuck together!" Randa laughed. "Until Graham _finally explained that…." Her voice trailed off. "That the harder we tried to pull away, the tighter we were tied together…" _

                         There was an awkward silence.   

    "Look Randa," Merrill started. "I ...I... uh, whatever it was I said that night, at the party….I'm sorry."

      Randa smiled "Me too. Come to think of it, what _were_ we fighting about?"

 "It was about uhh… well, actually I can't remember either."  They laughed. "I'm gonna get some more towels." Merrill muttered and went upstairs. Randa put the finger trap back on the mantle and looked over the photos. "We really did have some great times together." She reminisced. "It seems silly to let _one small argument-"_

Suddenly, a loud crash from the upstairs bedroom broke her train of thought.  She raced up the stairs and into the bedroom. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the room. But it was long enough for Randa to see Merrill lying motionless on the floor and the last of the four creatures standing there, a look of pure malevolence in it's eyes. 

Randa backed out of the room as the creature started toward her. She bolted down the hall, not watching where she was going. She slipped and fell just as the alien lunged at her. But when she closed her eyes, the only sound she heard was that of glass shattering. Upon opening her eyes, she saw a broken window slightly above her. She got up and looked out the window. Sure enough, there was the creature on the ground below, withering in the falling rain. "It must've accidentally jumped _right over me when I fell!" Randa thought as she hurried back to the bedroom. She went over to Merrill, who was still unconscious on the floor. _

 "Merrill" Randa whispered. She shook him. "Merrill" He remained still. "This can't be happening." She thought, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. "Ok, don't panic. I-I'll just go over to the main house and get help." She walked downstairs, tears forming around her eye rims.

 But just then, a soft groan sounded form upstairs. Randa turned around to see Merrill coming down the steps, rubbing his head. He glanced up at the broken window.

"What happened?" he asked. "Was that the last- Whoa!" Randa leapt up and threw her arms around him, nearly knocking him over. Once regaining his balance, he smiled and returned the embrace.  

The next morning, Morgan and Bo burst into Graham's room. "Dad! Dad!" they shouted. "Get up!  Come outside, you've gotta come see this!" He followed his children outside, curious to see what all the excitement was about. When he got there, he noticed Merrill and Randa were already up, standing hand in hand, and looking toward the sky. Bo tugged on Graham's sleeve and pointed up.

              "Look!" She chirped excitedly. "It's just like in the story!"

Graham looked up and saw what she was talking about. A huge rainbow graced the sky, a sign from above, a sign of hope.   

                                                                                         The End 

A.N. A short story, I know. I didn't have enough time for anything novel length. Thanks for all the reviews, everybody!   : ) 


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